Anchor rope popping loose?

[Wet_Willy]

Alright,
I'm hoping for some input from you other boaters out there on an anchor problem I had one time on my drift boat. I have the typical anchor rope cleat that you slide the rope into and reverse pressure locks the rope in place. A year or so ago I had a problem with the smoother 1/2" rope that you see on most driftboats around. It would pop out of the cleat occasionally, thankfully never in a rapid. I would make sure it was set well but it would still manage to find its way out. I thought I fixed the problem by switching to the old type braided 1/2" rope which works into the cleat and holds like a vise. Now my problem is that with all the twisting it is liking to unravel the braids.

Anybody have the same problem? Any surefire solutions or different types of locking mechanism for the anchor rope?

Thanks for the input.

WW

[Deleted User]

WW, I suggest either sharping the reverse barbs on the rope cleat or getting a new one. They hold pretty good unless they have been dulled by lots of use. I also suggest bolting in a small rope tie-down near your driftboat seat (or up front of sleds) to throw a couple safety half hitches into. An anchor dropped into rapids could be a disaster! - RT

[Hookset]

WW, That hard smooth nylon rope (was it yellow?) is better suited for crab pots or used as a tow rope, good thing you got rid ot it. I'm curious about your newer braided rope. Are you sure its braided and not twisted? Braided rope will not unravel, it'll fray but should still hold together. Twisted rope of course can untwist and become unmangeable if twistde severly. A good quality braided nylon rope in either 1/2" or 7"16th's should hold and last a long time. You want a tight braid, not a loose braid like the rope used for horse leads. My current rope is actualy yatching rope, maybe a tad to tight and smooth.

Also check your rope fit in the cleat. If over half the diameter is out of the cleat either by a larger size cleat or a smaller diameter rope, mayne both. The other item to check out is cleat and rope angle while under a load. The cleat should line up with the rope angle. Some setups between the last pulley and cleat could be offset. Meaning the rope is pulled off the side instead of down the middle of the cleat. This can make a huge difference with some anchor locations when the boat swings and the load goes from light to heavy, then back and forth again.

The answer is there somewhere, just track it down.

hook

[Osprey]

My suggestion is to buy quality rope from a marine shop and lose that swedge lock rope thingy,I bought a sailing stainless steel cleves spring loaded for around 25 bucks,it doesn't let go till you want it to,works great on my cat should work on a drift boat too....Os

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Row quietly and fish a Cataraft !!-------<'))>><
Release all Wild Fish

[Wet_Willy]

RT, I have thought about the small tie-down. Probably the cheapest option. Hookset, I didn't have that yellow stuff. What I originally had is actually braided (my mistake) red/white 1/2" and I switched to the twisted white 1/2" rope. The twisted rope works down into the cleat but doesn't manage well with the twisting of the multiple pulley system and unravels and twists up into semi knots on the floor.
I might check the angle of the cleat to the last pulley. It is all on one piece of aluminum. What exactly is Yatching rope. I'm not familiar with that term. And Os, I'm really interested in the stainless steel cleves spring. Where did you find it? I'm assuming at a sailing store/West Marine? Is it like a rope clutch used in sailing? Sounds like with that I could go back to using the braided rope which I liked better.

Thanks for the input guys.

WW

[Spoons]

Go to West Marine Products at Delta Park. They will match the correct rope with a new cleat like the one O's mentioned. That is what I use as well. I have never trusted the clam shell cleat that you are currently using. Good luck.

[Hookset]

WW, If you make it to West Marine or Boaters World, they'll have both the yatch rope, it's just another name for expensive braided rope used on sail boats and the cam cleat Osprey mentioned. I've never used the clam cleat but have seen this cleat used on drift boats in the past. Without a doubt the clam cleat is a great cleat since the rope is locked in place and releases only when you pull the rope towards you. However, I've still never had a problem with a standard wedge cleat and properly sized rope. My guess is your red/white braided rope swelled to large for your cleat. This is always a problem with wet rope and freezing weather.

good luck,

hook

[Roeboat]

On my drift boat I put in a system of nice big ball bearing side mounted pulleys that run to a black clam cleat immediately to my rightand forward about 3-4 feet so that either I or a person up front can pull anchor(nice when anchored in tricky places). Using a nice high quality rope gets rid of the problem of unraveling. The big black cleats are injection molded plastic with lots of quick grabbing teeth. They have an advantage over the cam cleats in that they will lock with a quick drop of the rope straight down, enabling the anchor to be drawn tight and then quickly cleated and they are cheaper. I have tried both and have used the big black cleats (West Marine)for the past 8 yrs. or so with no problems of slippage ever. The rope drops into a square pail so it can be fed out quickly with no knots or kinks. I have 100 feet of anchor line and believe me the time may well come when you will be very happy you have the smooth system with lots of free running rope.